First things first: We think Boomer needs a new home.
The reason: I have tried for two months to get him acclimated to our four cats, to no avail. They now live in the basement, and when one of them meows at the door, he lies there, tense and ready to attack. He has attacked Queen (the old one) and Buddha (the calm one) and both times it was so bad, he would have killed them if I hadn't been there. In every other way, he is great. But he needs a house that has no cats, and never will. I am putting out the word here that if anyone loves Boston Terriers and has no cats is welcome to meet Boomer and maybe adopt him from us. I love him, but I love my cats, too.
He can also jump fences. I bet that's why he was found wandering out on his own. Anyone want to give him a try?
It sucks, and I feel terrible. But we have to do something.
Let's move onto something else, okay?
Thanks to Pam, I am now a fungi-phile. I see it everywhere and have to photograph it. It's only fair, since I had a hand in turning her onto birds.
I have discovered my camera's Macro and Super Macro function!
Sometimes it's good to pee in the woods...walking along the river at Kelley's Nature Preserve, I had to go, so I stepped off the path. As I was coming back onto the path, I saw these three deer swimming across the river. COOL.It's also good to take a trail that you haven't taken before. Coming down the hill, I saw a small dog walking ahead of me. I called to it, but it ran away.
At the bottom of the hill, I saw it curled up under a tree. A puppy. I don't go looking for them, I swear...they find me!
I went closer, and she tried to hide under some bark. My heart just ached. It was about 35 degrees today. She was shivering and a bit bony.
She is home with us right now. Some of you must be thinking that her arrival has something to do with us giving Boomer up, but that's not true. It has made me think even more seriously about what a dog needs. This one needs love and Boomer needs a house to himself.
On a bird note, this cooper's hawk was there to greet us in the yard the other day. I got excited when I saw his tail, because I thought that it might be a sharp-shinned hawk, which would be a life bird for me. The tail of a sharp-shinned is squared, like this one and a cooper's is rounded. But the size says cooper's. Sharp-shinned hawks are more jay-sized. This bird was pretty darn big...maybe a female?
Drat. But still cool. That's four raptors that have made regular appearances in our yard since I started at RAPTOR. Cooper's, red-tailed, red-shouldered, and barred owl. It's hot all-bird of prey-action here!
***
Susan's tummy update: All the tests are back. I do not have cancer. I do not have microscopic colitis. Two polyps were removed that were not cancerous. I have been given a clean bill of health. Well, if that's so, why do I feel so damn rotten?
I have an appointment tomorrow with my beloved doctor, Susan Fremont (if you live in Loveland or the surrounding area, I highly recommend her...she rocks) and we will have a nice long talk about why I feel like I am 93, instead of 33.
9 comments:
Glad all the tests came back okay, but you still don't know why you don't feel good!
I'm sad about Boomer. Do you think that he's trainable? Have you thought of taking him to obedience classes? Keeping him on the leash when the cats are around?
That's what I did with Buddy when I first brought the bunnies home, but I had already obedience trained with him. I was able to work from there on his being gentle around the bunnies, of course he was already 6 or so years old and much more trainable by that age and laid back.
Maybe the humane society has a trainer or someone you can work with rather than giving him up?
I'm sorry, you said you don't want to talk about it.
I'm still jealous of that camera. I'm asking Santa for a macro lens!
How high a fence can Boomer jump? No...what am I doing? I wouldn't be able to take him for at least 8 weeks and you need help before then. Besides, our neighbors have free-running rabbits and a teeny dog that would also activate his prey drive. I hope you can find a solution. We had to give up a rescued dog once after trying to make her round peg fit in our square hole for 5 years. She wanted to be an only dog, and we had the big gentle Golden, and one day she just snapped and went for him. Our vet was advising us to put her down, but we contacted our great local shelter/dog training school and networked until we found somebody who was willing to take her and keep her as the queen of their castle. And we still miss her, but she's so much happier and living a fuller life in her new home.... Is there a chapter of a Boston rescue near you who could get the word out? Keep us posted!
I'm glad to hear that your test results are OK. You have ALOT on your mind right now. Wish I could do some thing for you- here's a big HUG. Keep us posted when you can.
hug hug hug hug hug
Your 33? Wow, I thought you were 29. Feel better now? :)
I am so glad you're okay, phew! Seriously, the only reason I'm vegeterian was because I couldn't get rid of extremely painful stomach aches while eating meat.
I have *tears* in my eyes for that little puppy. People who put dogs out by the side of the road or wherever in the elements ought to have the same thing happen to them. We are here to take care of the animals, just like you do. You rock Susan!
Cool fungi!!! Thanks Susan! Cool deer. And now, one lucky puppy. I'm sure you'll find a good home for Boomer.
Trouble is worrying won't do your guts any good but I won't tell you not to worry. I know that's just not easy. You should be reassured, though by your results. A good doctor is a blessing, isn't it.
Glad to see you share my love of fungi. Take your mind off everything and visit my domain.
Well, Susan, and Laura, Swami never expected to see a You Tube slide show on mushrooms when he stopped by to check out the comments.
A couple of those look like fungi that The Swami and Swamette would not want to meet in a forest at night. Hmmmm, I do think that a couple do look like something that might end up in a salad Thanksgiving day.
Feeling 93? Get a bicycle!
As H. G. Wells said:
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the human race."
It works for individual members of the race, too.
Susan, I'm so glad to hear good results. How can you feel 93 when you do so much in a day? You obviously have the energy and spirit! I am very sorry about Boomer. Sometimes that terrier instinct is hard to deal with. Training might help. But I'll tell you this - sometimes rescued dogs do well in a home as the only pet. We rescued a deaf Boston six years ago and after a few hours in my house, we saw that he was possessive aggressive and he tried to eat Chloe that night. We drove him back to his foster home in Arlington, VA the next morning. She wasn't pleased about it but a while later he was placed in an "only dog" home. I think Chloe might harm a cat and she can't be trusted. I had one cat left when Chloe was a puppy and she stayed in the basement. Your photos are looking better all the time! Blogger is a bummer tonight.
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